Microsoft is rolling out a significant update to BitLocker on Windows 11, introducing hardware acceleration to minimize the security feature’s impact on system speed.
How It Works
Traditionally, BitLocker relied on the main CPU to encrypt and decrypt storage drives, which could slow down performance. The new update shifts this workload to:
- Dedicated hardware engines within the SoC/CPU.
- NVMe SSD controllers capable of handling encryption directly.
Performance Gains
According to reports from Windows Latest, testing shows substantial improvements:
- Double the performance: Data read/write speeds improved significantly.
- 70% CPU reduction: Far fewer processor cycles are used, freeing up power for other tasks.
Availability
The feature will be enabled automatically on systems with compatible hardware. Users with modern CPUs and NVMe drives will see the most benefit, ensuring high-level data protection without the usual performance trade-off.
